Originally Posted by RedHairedScot

Response!

As a cyclist, I'd like to commend the writer of the letter "I Hate Those Bikers" on the obvious depth of feeling. It must have taken vast courage to overcome an obvious lack of intelligence and charm to dredge up this rambling, semi-literate diatribe. (To the author: "diatribe" means "long letter".) I tend to doubt his estimate of three hundred cyclists, as the largest group rides I've attended here will occasionally muster 1/10th that, but as I'm sure he's honed his math skills by studiously paying his taxes, I trust that he is more accurate at enumeration than, say, measuring the position of his mailbox. I also congratulate you upon the no-doubt perfectly normal interest in the health of your elderly neighbor's prostate and our own ability to procreate. Perfectly normal.

The amazing thing about our country is that it allows for freedom to be different. The same freedoms that allow you to streetrace lawn mowers and inquire upon the health of your neighbor's prostate allows us cyclists use of the road system that, contrary to your insinuations, we also pay taxes to maintain. Bicycles are vehicles; for short trips they're quicker than your truck, and for long trips they're more fun. Yes, more fun -- there's more to life than equipping a flamethrower on your truck, yelling at the neighbors' kids to get off your lawn, and ogling your elderly neighbor's prostate. Cyclists are not an impediment to traffic and provide something interesting for your wife to look at while you drive down the street, which I suspect is your problem. Instead of writing snarky letters to the newspaper, why not try riding your bike? The fresh air will do you good, and your body, your wife, and your elderly neighbor will thank you for it.